Eleventh and the Rose
by SilentlyInsane
Summary: One shot. The Eleventh Doctor meets Rose Tyler, but she doesn't even know who the Doctor is yet!


**Hey this is something I made for my friend. Sorry for the crappiness, I really didn't know what to write with the idea she gave me (11th and rose meeting)**

**anyway, hope you enjoy**

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He watched with unblinking eyes as the humans milled past him. Some looked hurried, others just enjoying the company of their companions. Those passing by didn't spare him a glance; it was like he was something ordinary, or a fixed part of the surroundings.

Humans. Always so interesting. A shopping mall... well, wasn't as interesting. And it definitely wasn't his first choice, what with all of time and space at his command. No, the Doctor definitely didn't hang around shopping malls often.

Something had called him here... kind of. A mental invitation of sorts, so of course, his curiosity was piqued. The eleventh regeneration of the Doctor felt that he needed to be here, at this normal London shopping mall, exactly at this time.

So what did this perfectly normal mall have in store for him? Was that manager an alien sucking the life out of her employees? Entirely plausible. Or was that little kid possessed? There were endless possibilities right in front of him; he'd just have to investigate a little.

At the moment, the Doctor was surrounded by women's clothing, and this did not strike him as the least bit odd. He inspected a pretty lavender blouse, caressing the fabric between his fingers. "Very nice, wouldn't you say?" he commented, meeting the eyes of a woman, who was giving him an uneasy look.

The woman just nodded and hurried on. The Doctor wondered what was wrong with her. He'd have to keep an eye on her for acting so suspicious.

The Doctor was about to follow her when a familiar sound stopped him in his tracks. A loud distinctive laugh. He immediately headed in the direction of the sound, using the racks of clothing as coverage. He approached the women's changing room, eliciting even more uneasy looks.

"Mum, don't get thaaat! It's not flattering at all, I'm telling you." The person speaking was the source of the laugh.

"What do ya mean? I like it!" Another familiar voice responded to the first.

The Doctor peeked around a corner to catch a glace at the little waiting area outside the women's changing room. Chairs and couches were set up to make shoppers more comfortable. Occupying one such chair was a beautiful, blonde young woman.

The Doctor's breath caught. Of all the possibilities in this mall, he had never thought this was the reason he was here. He was here to meet Rose Tyler as a different Doctor. She was the same Rose, just a tad younger. It was obvious that she had not met the past regeneration of himself yet.

"Mum, what kind of guy are you trying to attract with that?!" Rose said in an exasperated tone.

The Doctor looked forward more, and Jackie Tyler came into view. She was checking herself out in the mirror, her body encased in a tight, bright pink tube dress.

"Any nice guy, really. A nice guy would be attracted, right?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Mum... you look like you're about to go clubbing..." Rose told her slowly, with an air of cautiousness. "Maybe something more suited for your age? Like, oh, I don't know, a nice cocktail dress!"

"Where am I gonna wear that?" Jackie asked indignantly.

"Where are you gonna wear THAT?" Rose shot back, pointing at the ostentatious dress.

The Doctor looked on in amusement. Same old Rose, same old Jackie. He decided it was time to intervene in this little mother-daughter row.

He hurried around the corner, trying to give the impression that he was searching for something. He peered into their confused faces, trying to look just as baffled. "Did you hear someone calling for a John?"

Rose's eyebrows furrowed. "No..I didn't hear anything." She looked at Jackie to back her up.

"I didn't hear anything, mate." The mother shrugged. "Sorry."

"Ah... I see. Never mind that, I bet it was nothing important." The Doctor rocked back on his feet, giving the girls a smile. "That is an interesting dress you picked out there!"

"See Rose, he likes it!" Jackie's eyebrows raised and she scooted closer to the Doctor. "Doesn't it make me look expensive?" She began posing in front of him.

"As expensive as a polyester and spandex mix can make a woman look!" He said, trying to avoid insulting the dress. "Now, that color is not very good on you, Miss, uh..?"

"Jackie Tyler." Jackie narrowed her eyes, not knowing where this was going.

"Miss Tyler, I would suggest this... uhh..." He searched around frantically. He spotted a nice navy blue dress with a cinched waist. Immediately picking it up, he waved it in front of her. "This blue dress! It will compliment your lovely blue eyes."

"You should try it, mum!" Rose quickly agreed. "It looks great!"

Jackie looked him up and down, then snatched the blue dress from his hands. "I wouldn't usually take fashion advice from some bloke in a bow tie, but, since Rose agreed..."

She stormed off into the dressing room without hesitation. Rose immediately made eye contact with the Doctor, giving him a look of appreciation.

"Thank you so much, that dress was _horrible_!"

The Doctor gave her a thumbs up and nodded. "No problem- all in a day's work."

Rose gave him a strange look. "What'd you say your name was? John?" She was looking him up and down in a curious, non-flirty way. She was trying to figure him out.

"Yes! John Smith! And you are Rose Tyler, I presume?" The Doctor stepped forward, extending his hand. "You look a lot like Miss Tyler, so I just assumed..."

Rose got up and took his hand in hers. "Yes, that's me! Nice to meet you, John."

"It's certainly a pleasure to meet you, Rose..." The Doctor smiled, examining every feature of her face. The brown eyes he remembered so well looked innocent and full of life. It was so different from the last time he'd seen her. Rose Tyler's whole life was in front of her, and little did she know...

She gave him a strange look, and he realized that he'd been shaking her hand for longer than the appropriate amount of time. "Oh, so sorry!" The Doctor retracted his hand. "My mind went somewhere else for a minute."

"It's alright..." Rose answered, a curious tone in her voice. She seated herself once again. "She'll definitely be a while..."

Rose tapped her foot, looking up at the Doctor. It was obvious that she expected him to leave. He was, after all, a random stranger to her. "So, John... What do you do?"

"What do I do? I do a lot of things! I do stuff, mostly..." He smiled and rolled back and forth on his heels.

She laughed. He had so many memories of that laugh and the big smile that went with it. "I meant, like, what's your job?"

"Oh, I'm a traveler." The Doctor said, trying not to sound suspicious. "I travel to a bunch of places and... well, help people!"

A look of awe transformed her features. "That sounds amazing. I've always wanted to travel around and see and experience new things." She was glowing as she talked about her dreams of travel. The Doctor couldn't help a small smile from slipping onto his face.

Rose suddenly sighed heavily. "But it's just a silly dream. I'm stuck in my boring old life."

"I'll tell you what, Rose Tyler... Anything can happen." He whispered knowingly to her, looking straight into her eyes.

Rose looked slightly alarmed and confused by the sudden statement. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by her mother's entrance.

"How do I look?!" Jackie waltzed out of the changing room, twirling around so the Doctor and Rose could see the full effect of the blue dress. It really did look way better on her than the one before.

"You look dashing, Miss Tyler!" the Doctor commented.

"It looks great, mum!" Rose added.

"Why, thank you..." She wiggled her eyebrows. "So, John... would this attract a guy like you, perhaps?"

"Ahhh, well..." He shuffled uncomfortably. Yep. Same old Jackie. He smiled sheepishly. "You look very attractive, I assure you, but I really must be leaving."

"Aw, so soon?" Jackie was getting closer and closer to him.

"Yeah, stuff to do! Goodbye!" The Doctor turned to leave, only to stop a couple feet away. "Oh, Rose!" When he looked back, she was standing next to her mother.

"Yeah?"

"Don't give up on that dream." With that, he left them.

The Doctor wasn't really sure why he had met Rose that day, but he was positive that it was meant to happen. If anything, he felt better about his companion related guilt. Even though he had forever changed Rose Tyler's life for the worse, it was him that made it possible for her dream to come true.

There were many things the Doctor regretted, but that was not one of them.


End file.
